Health

Coronavirus updates: Los Angeles ‘on the brink’ of a return to shelter-in-place

July 21, 2020

771

LATEST July 21, 1:10 p.m. California’s top health official Dr. Mark Ghaly said at a Tuesday press briefing California is “just in the beginning” of the pandemic and the situation has worsened as some viewed reopening as a “green light to resume a normal life.”

Ghaly expressed the need for people to wear face masks, wash their hands and socially distance.

“I know they seem simple, but they’re hard to do consistently,” said the secretary of the California Health and Human Services agency.

Using a metaphor often used by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Ghaly referred to reopening as a “dimmer switch” and said the state may “toggle back” more reopenings if the health data doesn’t improve.

The state recently used the “dimmer switch” on July 13 when it ordered a sweeping statewide shutdown of indoor dining, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, and other indoor operations.

Ghaly said it was originally thought the state would see impacts from the rollback in two weeks, but it may take “three, four or even five weeks” to feel the impact of those changes.

Watch the full press conference here.

July 21, 12:40 p.m. Marin County will now institute fines for those individuals and business that violate health orders, as the county’s Board of Supervisors decided in a meeting Tuesday morning.

Individuals could be forced to pay fines of between $25 to $500 and businesses, between $250 to $10,000. Further details are forthcoming.

July 21, 12:30 p.m. UC Berkeley will begin the 2020-2021 school year with “fully remote instruction,” the school announced Tuesday. Cal cited the increase of cases in Alameda County as a primary reason for the decision. The statement, however, allows for the possibility of resuming in-person lessons in some capacity later on in the semester for those who prefer it.

“COVID-19 is showing us that we have to be not only agile, moving quickly between degrees of openness and sometimes pulling back, but also prepared to move forward as soon as conditions allow,” reads the statement. “This means we will keep a fully remote option open for all students but also be prepared to implement our plans for select in-person instruction activities for those students who can take advantage of them, as conditions allow, even if it is part way through a term. We understand that this is more complex and difficult for students, staff, and instructors, and we commit to providing guidance and support.”

July 21, 11 a.m. California had 391,538 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 7,694 deaths as of Monday, according to data from the state. The total number of cases is expected to exceed 400,000 this week and may also surpass New York’s total case count. As of Monday, New York had 408,181 cases. California is currently seeing more dramatic increases in cases than New York with the states reporting 62,376 and 4,679 respectively in the last week.

People walk at the boardwalk in Venice Beach during the first day of the Memorial Day holiday weekend amid the novel Coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic in California on May 23, 2020. - — People walk at the boardwalk in Venice Beach during the first day of the Memorial Day holiday weekend amid the novel Coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic in California on May 23, 2020. –

APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images

July 21, 8:45 a.m. As cases in Los Angeles County continue to surge, Mayor Eric Garcetti has said over the past two weeks that the county may be forced to roll back openings and return to its original stay-at-home order.

Appearing on CNN Sunday, Garcetti was asked about a Los Angeles Times editorial that criticized the rapid reopening of California, which was followed by a spike in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

“I do agree those things happened too quickly,” Garcetti said, adding that the decisions were made at the state and county levels, not by city officials.

The mayor said Los Angeles is “on the brink” of new widespread stay-at-home orders as L.A. County, with a quarter of California’s population, continues to see the state’s largest increase in confirmed coronavirus cases. The decision is likely to come in the next week or two.

The L.A. Times pointed out if this happens, Los Angeles will “have the dubious distinction of being the biggest U.S. city to receive a second stay-at-home order.”

On Monday, for the second straight day, Los Angeles County reported “the highest number of new hospitalizations reported in a day with 2,232 people currently hospitalized,” surpassing Sunday’s count of 2,216 hospitalizations.

“Each day, we are thinking of the many families in L.A. County who have lost loved ones to COVID-19. We are deeply sorry for your loss and send our deepest condolences. We’re also thinking of the many people who are hospitalized and fighting to get well. Our thoughts and prayers are with you,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the director of public health in a statement.

The county announced Monday $10 million to community-based organizations, especially in the hardest hit communities, to encourage participation with case investigation and contact-tracing efforts. Public Health is also testing a $20 gift card incentive program to thank individuals for participating in the hour-long contact-tracing interview, according to a statement.

The mayor has attributed the increase in spread not just to the reopenings, but also to people becoming less vigilant about following public health guidance and gathering with others outside their households.

“It’s not just what’s open and closed,” he said. “It’s also about what we do individually.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

July 21, 8 a.m. UC Berkeley continues to see a trickle of coronavirus cases among staff and students after the university experienced a small outbreak at the start of the month. Officials said the situation is under control through testing and contact tracing.

“Contact tracing has been going very well thanks to the effort of university health services in coordination with Berkeley public health and the numbers are going in the right direction (slower rate of increase from that first week when we announced),” University Health Services spokesperson Janet Gilmore wrote in an email. “And individuals asked to come in and test are doing so.”

Between July 1 and 8, the university detected 47 new cases and found the notable increase was likely tied to fraternity parties. A week later, between July 9 and 14, UC Berkeley’s student health services discovered 25 more cases. Since then four new cases have been reported.

July 21, 7:45 a.m. California hair and nail salons may provide services outdoors under new rules announced Monday. The rules aim to provide a lifeline for personal care services decimated by the state’s shutdown orders, but an industry organization says the changes give little help to many owners.

The announcement came as Gov. Gavin Newsom reported that infections, hospitalizations and intensive care cases continued increasing but at a slower rate after the state scaled back reopening earlier this month.

“We saw a big increase, now we’re seeing some stabilization,” Newsom said. He noted the rate of positive coronavirus tests fell slightly in the last week to 7.2%.

Virus cases have surged in many parts of California in the last month. In the last two weeks alone, the number of new confirmed cases was nearly 120,000 and there were 1,357 deaths.

The California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency released rules allowing hair stylists, barbers, manicurists, massage therapists and estheticians to offer some personal care services outdoors.

They can operate under tents, canopies or other shelters so long as no more than one side is enclosed, the agency said, allowing for enough outdoor air movement to deter the buildup or spread of the virus.

The rules still bar chemical hair services including shampooing, permanent waving, bleaching, tinting, coloring, dyeing and straightening. Electrolysis, tattooing and piercing also are banned.

“I’m open to innovation, I truly am, but how many small businesses are going to be able to afford all of these modifications?” asked Jessie Santiago, the owner of Salon Benders in Long Beach. She planned to buy a shade structure and was considering other equipment she will need.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

A California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officer wears a protective mask as he stands guard at the front gate of San Quentin State Prison on June 29, 2020 in San Quentin, California. S

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

July 21, 7:15 a.m. A San Quentin State Prison death row inmate died Monday apparently from complications related to the coronavirus, officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.

Troy Ashmus, 58, died at an outside hospital and is the latest death at San Quentin linked to COVID-19.

Thirteen deaths at San Quentin have been linked to the virus, according to the CDCR website tracking illnesses and deaths from the pandemic. Statewide the deaths of 40 CDCR inmates have been linked to the virus, CDCR records show.

Ashmus was sentenced to death in July 1986 for the murder of 7-year-old Marcella Davis in Sacramento County. Ashmus had been on death row since September 1986.

July 21, 7 a.m. San Jose non-profit Parents Helping Parents hosted Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools Mary Ann Dewan on Monday to discuss back-to-school plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic and resources available for parents.

Since Santa Clara County is on the state’s watch list, all schools — private, charter and public — are required to start the academic year with a distance-learning model to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.

This may put children with disabilities at a disadvantage, but Dewan said the county has been preparing resources throughout the summer to accommodate all needs.

“We recognize that this is not the ideal way for some services to be provided and that may mean additional support is provided to adults, so training to teachers, professionals and support for parents,” she said.

Inclusion Collaborative is a resource hub for parents started by the County’s Office of Education to assist with distance learning. The office has also started a hotline for parents called Warmline that is available eight hours a day to provide parents with alternate resources for children and answer questions.

Bay City News contributed to this story.